Between the Lines
by GreenField
Summary: Sequel to 'My Funny Valentine' and prequel to CIT.Now that the War is over,Fred and Viria can finally start their married life without worrying about what's around the corner.But they soon begin to realise that they are anything BUT prepared for adult life,and with a baby on the way and the ever-expanding Weasley clan to handle,can Fred and Viria ever hope to lead a 'normal' life?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey! So, this may be being started against my better judgement, but I miss writing Fred and Vi loads, and I really wanted to do some stuff about their early years together and them becoming parents and...well, living in the 'real world', I guess. So, here that is. I hope all my old readers find it okay and reviews would be great! Thank you. Set between the last chapter of MFV and the epilogue of MFV.**

"Viria? Viria, are you okay?"

"Go away!"

"Come on, who would you rather have see you throwing up – me or your precious husband?"

After a moment's thought, Viria stretched out from her position by the toilet to unlock the bathroom door. Ginny entered, grimacing at the smell.

"Bloody Hell, Viria! That's four days in a row now that you've practically lived in here. Are you sure that's normal?"

"Probably not. When do I ever do normal?" Viria rose to her feet, standing still as if experimenting whether or not she was strong enough, "Okay, I think I'm good"

"Here" still grimacing, Ginny handed Viria the toothbrush and paste, "You don't want to go and see Luna like that"

"Oh, I forgot about that!" Viria turned, toothbrush hanging out of her mouth, "Must we?"

"You're not holing yourself up indoors all day just because Fred's at work. You can do stuff without him, you know"

"I know that!" Viria leaned over and poked her friend with the end of the toothbrush, "I just don't want to throw up all over the Dirigible plums, that's all"

They both giggled, remembering the first time they had visited Luna's house and been struck dumb by the sign warning them to keep away from the odd purple fruits. Viria spat out the paste and turned back to Ginny, wiping her mouth.

"Fine, we'll go. I do want to see Luna"

"I knew you would. AND she doesn't know that you're knocked up yet! We need to give her the news" Ginny added excitedly. Viria glared at her.

"You know I hate that phrase. 'Knocked Up'. It's so disgustingly...English"

"You are English now, my friend, you'd better get used to our ways"

* * *

Luna and Xenophilius welcomed them with open arms. Viria felt slightly more uncomfortable about sharing her news upon seeing that Neville was also visiting, until she saw that he and Luna were holding hands under the table.

"You two are finally together?!" Ginny cried, face bright with joy for them, "Wow, I think we're all hooked up now"

"'Hooked up'? That's so American" Viria muttered distastefully, and Ginny rolled her eyes.

"War does weird things with relationships" Neville shrugged, ignoring Viria's comment, "Makes you think about your happiness a bit more" he looked over to Viria with a grin, "Not for you, though. You were already happy"

"Speaking of which, Viria's got something to share with you" Ginny put in, never afraid to speak for her best friend, "Go on, Viria, spit it out"

Viria looked at Luna and Neville's hopeful, curious faces, and a smile rose to her lips, "I'm pregnant"

Luna gave a little cry, most unlike one of Ginny's great shrieks, and moved to hug her friend, "Viria, how wonderful!"

Viria looked anxiously at Neville, trying to gage his reaction, but he, too, was smiling, "That's great news, Viria. I'm really happy for you" he didn't hug her as Luna had, but he reached across the table and squeezed her hand. Viria visibly sank with relief.

"Are you excited?" Luna queried, her smoky blue eyes bright, "How long has it been?"

"Only a few weeks, not long at all, really. And yes, of course I am. Fred and I are moving into the flat above Weasley's Wizard Wheezes at the end of this week. We're going to do everything properly now. Be a proper family" the eagerness for this was tangible in Viria's voice, her need for a secure family home, a haven to share with her husband. If the war had done anything, it had made Viria a lot more determined to hold on to what she had, and to enjoy it.

Xenophilius came in at that moment, carrying a tray with a teapot and mugs. Luna beamed at him and rose to take it.

"Thank you, Daddy"

Viria and Ginny exchanged a glance. They did not have fond memories of that tea.

"Would you like a cup, Viria?" Luna smiled, tipping the teapot. Viria was just trying to find a polite way to refuse when the scent of the Gurdyroot infusion hit her nostrils – and her gag reflex.

She promptly vomited all over the table.

* * *

"Let me do it! Vi, for Merlin's sake, you can't lift _anything_" Fred took the final box of their things from his young wife with a stern expression. Viria rolled her eyes and took it back.

"It's light, Fred! I'm fine. And I'm pregnant, not sick" she moved swiftly to the stairs before he could snatch it from her, and Fred followed with a resigned and weary nod.

"Fine. You're so stubborn"

"I learnt it from my dear husband" she retorted, looking over her shoulder with a smile. Fred couldn't help grinning back.

The flat was still sparsely furnished with everything from their doomed summer together two years before, but now the centre of the living room was piled with cardboard boxes containing their few possessions – mostly Viria's clothes.

"It's really happening, isn't it?" she observed, dumping the box with the others and gazing round the room, "We're really doing this"

"Doing what?" Fred moved towards her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Branching out. Making our own way in life" she rested a hand on her stomach and smiled, "Becoming a family"

"Of course we are. That is what married couples tend to do" he kissed her cheek.

"I forget that we're married, sometimes. It was such a strange time, with so many people missing and so impromptu. I only forget for a second though, of course. How could I ever forget being married to such a pain in the arse?"

"Oi! You've been spending too much time with Ron" Fred let go of her, turning her to face him, "Actually, I've been thinking about that a lot. Our wedding"

"You have?"

"Mhm. I was thinking that – not now, but maybe in a couple of years or so, after the baby's born – we could have one of those Vow Ceremonies? Mum and Dad had one a few years back. It's a sort of... I don't know, like a re-do of a wedding. To reaffirm your love or something like that. But I think we should do it just because so many people who should have been there weren't there. And everyone deserves to see how beautiful you looked in that dress"

Viria smiled, "I think, Fred Weasley, that that is a very inspired idea"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi! Thank you so much for the reviews, I'm so happy with the response I received for this! I thought everyone would be sick of Fred and Vi...guess I was wrong! It was definitely not a good idea to start this though...there's something else I should be updating right now that I left on a massive cliffhanger. Oops. Anyway, enough of my rambling – please review and thanks for reading!**

_And I never saw you coming  
And I'll never be the same again_

_This is a state of grace_  
_This is a worth while fight_  
_Love is a ruthless game_  
_Unless you play it good and right_  
_These are the hands of fate_  
_You're my Achilles heel_  
_This is the golden age of something good_  
_And right and real – State of Grace, Taylor Swift._

When Fred opened the door to the flat that evening, the first thing that struck him was that he was pretty sure he could hear a cat being strangled. Or maybe a dog whining. It even sounded a tiny bit like a fly buzzing, really shrilly. Then he realised.

It was Viria singing.

Clicking the door quietely shut behind him, Fred found Viria dancing around the kitchen. She had her back to him, and clearly hadn't heard him come in. She had the radio on loud, singing along to a song he'd never heard before – probably something from a Muggle radio station, she'd always liked their music. It looked like she was making cupcakes.

"_We are never ever ever getting back together, we are never ever -"_

"Um...Vi?"

Viria spun round, grinning sheepishly, "I didn't hear you come in"

"Clearly" Fred grinned back, moving into the kitchen, "Enjoying yourself, were you?"

"Yes! I found a new cupcake recipe, orange chocolate. It looks pretty good. You want some?" she held out the mixing spoon, and Fred brought it to his lips to taste the cake mixture.

"Delicious" he agreed, and Viria beamed.

"Thanks" she reached towards the radio and turned the volume down as the song ended, "I do hope I didn't lose you any customers with my singing"

"I couldn't hear it from downstairs, but I think you might lose yourself a husband if you carry on with it once I'm home" he was trying not to laugh at the indignant look on Viria's face, and when she saw that, she smiled again.

"Okay, okay. It can't have been that bad"

"Vi. Seriously. It was that bad"

"Oh" she gave him another sheepish grin, and started spooning the mixture into the cake cases, "I'll make it up to you with cakes"

"Or more than cakes?" Fred suggested, resting his hands either side of her waist. Viria shrugged him off.

"At least let me put the cakes in the oven first! I mean, really..." her exasperation only thinly veiled the smile in her voice.

"Fine, fine" Fred backed away, "What's for dinner?"

Viria suddenly stopped moving, her hand frozen over the baking tray. Fred frowned.

"Vi?"

She turned around slowly, her eyes widened appealingly and her mouth in a little round 'O', like it always did when she'd done something wrong.

"Cupcakes?" she offered, looking guiltily at him from under her eyelashes. Fred snorted with laughter.

"Oh dear. You completely forgot, didn't you?"

"Maybe? Oh, Fred, I'm sorry! I'm no good at this whole housewife thing, am I? I'll cook something proper for you tomorrow, I promise"

"It's okay" he laughed, putting his hands on her waist again and drawing her closer, "But you'd better not forget tomorrow. George is coming back, remember, and he'll be very upset if he doesn't get any food. He's almost as bad as Ron"

Viria snorted too, "Okay, I promise! Poor George. A whole weekend sampling the delicacies of Paris with his new 'friend' Angelina and having to come back to a plate of macaroni cheese"

"I'm sure it'll be delicious macaroni cheese" Fred retorted placatingly, lips pressed against her neck. Viria shrugged him off again.

"If you don't let me put these in the oven, you'll not be getting anything to eat at all!"

* * *

"If you can cook snails, surely you can do macaroni cheese or spaghetti bolognaise or something?" Ginny taunted, clearly confused. Viria flicked the white sauce from the pan at her friend's freckled face.

"Stop it! I thought I could, too. Turns out I'm not the domestic goddess I thought I would be"

"What's that saying about good wives? Chef in the kitchen, whore in the bedroom and all that?"

"I've definitely got one of them covered" Viria shrugged, winking at Ginny. Ginny peered over her shoulder at the lumpy-looking sauce.

"Well it's definitely not the chef part, is it? Blimey, Viria, I've never seen anyone mess up a white sauce before! Ever"

"Oh, leave me alone!" Viria cried, running out of patience, "I can't do anything!"

Ginny looked at the tears in her friend's eyes and sighed, "Okay, Viria, it's okay. Your hormones are really playing havoc with you today, aren't they? That's the second time you've been moved to tears this morning!"

Viria swiped at her eyes impatiently, and looked suddenly up at Ginny with a huge beam on her lips, "I've thought of something!"

Ginny leapt down from the kitchen worktop, gawping, "You have?"

"Carbonara! Papa used to make it with me when I was little. I'm sure I can still remember it"

Ginny felt herself visibly sag with relief. Viria's stress over the cooking was starting to do her head in.

"Thank God for that" she muttered to herself, and moved to help her best friend.

* * *

"You did a really great job with the food. It was a great homecoming present. Thanks" George had come out to the kitchen where Viria was supervising the plates and cutlery magically cleaning themselves. She smiled at him.

"It was nothing, really" she said with a casual shrug, as though she hadn't almost had a nervous breakdown over the meal. In the end it had turned into such a success that she'd invited Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Luna to share it with them.

"How was your weekend away?" Viria queried, recalling how George had insisted she not invite Angelina. He squirmed under her inquisitive gaze.

"It was...I don't know. Good"

"Something happened, didn't it?" Viria asked, eyes narrowing, "What did you do, George?"

"Nothing!" he protested, holding up his hands just like Fred did when in trouble, "Nothing"

"George, you're my husband's twin. If I wasn't able to tell when you were lying I'd be a pretty crap wife" she said sternly, eyeing her favourite brother-in-law with suspicion. George sighed heavily.

"I don't really know what went wrong. It was all going so well – "

"You slept with her, didn't you?" Viria realised, eyes widening, "You did, didn't you?!"

"No! Well...yes. But she wanted to, it wasn't like I forced myself on her or anything. It was..." he reddened. Viria did too.

"You can talk to Fred about what the sex was like, I really don't want to hear that. But what happened afterwards?"

Looking relieved that she didn't want too many details, George continued, "I don't know. I thought it would mean that we were...well, a couple, but she didn't seem too excited by that idea. I thought I was a commitment phobic, but she looked terrified everytime I even tried to bring up the subject! And then we hardly talked for the rest of the trip, and she won't answer my calls. I don't know what went wrong"

"Aw, George" Viria squeezed his hand, sympathetic, "It's going to be fine. Everyone can see the spark between you. You should go to see her, now. Go and find her and tell her exactly how you feel, that you understand if she's not ready but you needed to see her. There's nothing a woman likes more than a declaration of love"

"Seriously?" George looked doubtful, "Won't that just scare her off even more?"

"Trust me. Go to her" Viria urged, "You'll regret it if you don't"

"Regret what?" Fred appeared in the kitchen, "George, you were supposed to be getting dips for the crisps"

"It's my fault. I started asking him about the trip"

"Ah" Fred's eyes lit up with interest, "Really? And that led on to the subject of regrets? Uh oh"

"Uh oh indeed" George agreed wearily, rolling his eyes, "Your lovely wife is trying to persuade me to go to Angelina and tell her how I feel"

"You should!" Fred agreed earnestly, "Seriously, George, think what would have happened if I hadn't told Vi how I felt! You have to do it, if you really care about her"

"I do"

"Then go!" Viria cried, "Let me and Fred be the matchmakers for once, won't you?"

"That's the other thing I came to the kitchen to tell you" Fred began, lowering his voice, "Another of our matchmaking plots has succeeded. Luna and Neville are holding hands, they won't let go of each other for anything. Something's definitely happened there"

"Yes!" Viria squealed, clapping her hands, "See, George, you have to trust us now! Please?"

George reached for his coat, still draped carelessly over the chair he'd chucked it on earlier, "Fine. I'll go. But if it all goes wrong I'm blaming you"

"I agree to those terms" Viria conceded, ushering him out the door, "Go!"

Once the door had slammed behind him, Viria turned back to her husband, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I love the idea of us being matchmakers" she said happily, "Think, in another sixteen years, we can matchmake the baby!"

Fred laughed, kissing the tip of her nose, "Not if it's a girl. If it's a girl, she's not being matchmade until she's thirty-five. At least"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry about the gap between updates. No reviews for the last chapter! I'm very sad about that. PLEASE, please review, and thank you for reading! Look out for AVPM quote! :P**

_Two hearts are beating, together.  
I'm in love (woohoo)  
I'm in love (woohoo)  
Is this forever, and ever  
I'm in love (woohoo)  
I'm in love (woohoo)  
Two hearts are beating, together.  
I'm in love (woohoo)  
I'm in love (woohoo)  
Is this forever, and ever  
I'm in love (woohoo)  
I'm in love (woohoo) – 2 Hearts, Kylie Minogue._

Viria and Fred were just getting dressed when they heard the key in the lock at eight the next morning. Viria, in the midst of jumping into her jeans, turned and grinned and her husband. Fred grinned back.

"I'm surprised he still bothered coming into work, the dirty stop out"

Viria giggled, giving her jeans a final yank and trying not to think about the fact that in a few weeks they would no longer fit her, before poking her head around the bedroom door. George was tiptoeing in, looking furtively around him as though afraid that he might get caught. He almost jumped out of his skin when Viria and Fred both bounded into the living room, faces eager with the anticipation of a good, juicy story.

"Well?" Fred asked slyly, "What happened?"

Instead of answering, George rushed to Viria and swept his sister-in-law into a bone-crushing hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! You were right!"

Shrieking with laughter, Viria pulled out of his arms and beamed up at him. George was just slightly taller than Fred, and when looking up at him Viria definitely felt the distance.

"What did she say?" she asked eagerly. George flopped down onto the sofa, leaving Fred and Viria to squish together on the armchair opposite him, hungry for gossip.

"I did what you said, told her exactly how I felt, and that I was willing to take things slowly, and she said she'd been thinking about it a lot too. She invited me in for a glass of mulled wine, to which I said yes, and we were just...talking. For ages, about us. And then she said that she felt the same, that she'd felt the same for years, and when she saw how loved up you two were she thought it might prompt me to do something. She said that me telling her how I felt was exactly what she'd been waiting for all these years. And then she...well, it's eight in the morning and I'm in yesterday's clothes, you can guess how it went"

"George, that's fantastic! Didn't I tell you? There, Fred, right there, that is concrete proof that I'm always right!" Viria crowed. Fred poked her in the ribs in retaliation for the remark.

"I don't think so. But that's great, George, really it is"

Viria watched the two brothers share a delighted embrace and smiled smugly to herself. No matter what Fred said, she knew she was an expert at matchmaking. She was half-French, after all.

"Considering the circumstances, actually, I was wondering, Viria – "

"If I wouldn't mind covering for you?" Viria finished for her husband's twin, "Sure. I was planning on helping out today anyway. I'm pregnant, not an invalid, and being indoors all day gets boring"

"Good, good" George rubbed his hands together gleefully and lay down on the sofa, pulling down a blanket to cover himself and kicking off his boots, "See you later"

Fred rolled his eyes at Viria and took her hand to lead her down to the shop, "Come on. Let Sleeping Beauty have his rest"

Viria halted, staring at him, "_Sleeping Beauty_? You know Sleeping Beauty?"

"I know you said your grandmother used to read those Muggle stories to you when you were a little girl in France. So I read a few. I thought you might want me to read them to the baby so I'd better get to know them first"

Viria stared at him for a minute, then shook her head, a smile of wonder on her lips, "You surprise me every day"

Fred squeezed her hand, "Sometimes, I even surprise myself"

* * *

Later that afternoon, when Fred had disappeared to the back room to fetch more supplies and Viria was manning the shop alone, Ginny arrived with two ice creams from Fortescue's.

"When I found out you were working I thought you might feel the need for some icy deliciousness" she offered with a grin. Viria sighed in relief.

"Thank God for that, I'm starving! And mint choc-chip – how did you know?" she bit into the ice cream and winced as it pained her sensitive teeth, "Ow, cold! What are you doing here, anyway? Did you seriously come all this way to bring me ice cream?"

Ginny coloured slightly, "Harry wanted to come up anyway. We're buying new broomsticks. But I popped in here because I wanted to ask you...something. Just quickly"

"I'm intrigued" Viria replied with a quirk of an eyebrow, "What could you possibly want to ask me?"

Ginny reddened further, "It's a bit...awkward"

"Well it shouldn't be" Viria retorted, affronted, "I'm your best friend" she turned away to a customer with a pleasant smile, "That'll be nine Galleons, please. That pimple vanisher is amazing, honestly, I really recommend it. What can I say, my husband's a genius!"

The woman with her teenage daughter laughed, but the girl just muttered something and pulled her mother away. Viria turned back to Ginny and rolled her eyes.

"That girl reminds me of what I was like with my mother"

Ginny looked quizzically at her, "You hate her that much?"

Viria considered for a moment, head tipped to the side, "Yes. Now don't change the subject"

"I only wanted to know...just out of curiosity, really...does it hurt?"

Viria looked confused, "What, being pregnant? No. I think it's the giving birth that's supposed to be the painful bit, Gin"

"No, not that! I know _that_. I meant when you...you know..." she ducked behind the flaming red fringe of her hair and Viria let out a loud gasp.

"Oh my God, you're going to have SEX!"

The buzz of talk from the browsers in the shop faded into silence. There was a loud crash and they both turned, blushing furiously, to see that Fred was standing by the till, jaw tight with fury. The box he had gone to fetch was now on the floor.

"Sorry" said Viria shrilly to the gawping customers, "Just a bit of a shock, that's all. My friend is a confirmed virgin. In fact, she was thinking of becoming a nun – "

"_Viria_!" Ginny hissed, digging her fingers into Viria's arm, "Please stop _talking_!"

Both crimson, the two girls turned slowly to Fred as the customers resumed their speech and browsing. Ginny looked pleadingly at Fred.

"Fred, I – "

"Save it, Ginevra Weasley. You are NOT having sex with anyone. Not even Harry Freakin' Potter"

"Wait, what?"

The three of them turned again and found Harry standing there, looking slightly shell-shocked. His puzzled eyes flickered to Ginny.

"Gin, what's going on?"

"Nothing!" Ginny replied breezily, moving towards him and linking his arm, "We have to go now"

"But I thought we were staying to chat with Fred and Vir-"

"No, not today, they're busy. Goodbye!" practically dragging a bemused Harry from the shop, Ginny wiggled her fingers in a careless wave over her shoulder, then looked at Viria with venom in her gaze.

"Oh dear" said Viria with a nervous little laugh, "If looks could kill"

Fred, however, did not look amused, "Ginny's too young"

"She's the same age as I am, and we started ages ago"

"You're different. You're not my little sister"

"God forbid! I'm not too keen on the idea of incest. Still, if you'd have been the brother I might have been tempted"

She saw his lips twitch and knew that he was trying not to laugh. Reaching out, she squeezed his hand.

"I think it was supposed to be a surprise" she said softly, ruefully, "Poor Ginny"

Fred glowered at her, "I am _not_ ready to talk about what I just heard yet, Vi"

She fluttered her eyelashes, "Sorry"

"Don't try that on with me" he sighed heavily, "She grew up really fast"

"Now you sound old. And you'd better get used to it. You'll be saying that about our kid for the rest of our lives"

"She might be a he" Fred pointed out, "Will we find out at the scan next week, Vi?"

"I think we'll have to. I'm sick of calling our baby it. Or giving it a gender and thinking that it might be the wrong gender. It's just annoying" she turned away to serve another three customers, who looked rather disgruntled and had obviously been queuing for a while, before continuing with a cheeky smile, "So, placing bets. What do you think?"

"Three galleons it's a girl" Fred said at last, "I can just imagine having to put up with two of you"

"I think it's a boy" Viria countered, "Make it five galleons and you're on"

"Deal"

"Deal"

"And Vi?"

"Yes?"

"I don't want to hear another word about Ginny's sex life ever, _ever _again"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hi! Thank you so, so much for the reviews, they make me so happy – review again and I'll give you cookies **** Also, if anyone has any song lyrics to suggest for the little quotes I do at the beginning of chapters, that would be really cool – I'd love to see if the songs I relate to Fred and Vi are the same as the ones you relate, or if we have the same taste in music **** Thank you so much!**

_But uh oh, I love her because  
She moves in her own way  
But uh oh, she came to my show  
Just to hear about my day_

_But uh oh, I love her because_  
_She moves in her own way_  
_But uh oh, she came to my show_  
_Just to hear about my day – She moves in her own way, The Kooks._

Viria didn't much like St Mungo's hospital – never had, and never would do. She was used to the tender ministrations of Madame Pomfrey, not to the brisk efficiency of the nurses at Mungo's. Fred didn't much like the hospital either; it reminded him of when his father had been attacked by Nagini, and that long night sitting around the table in Grimmauld Place, trying not to think about what might happen.

On that day, however, both had swallowed their fear and entered the hospital, hand-in-hand, with big smiles on their faces. They were eager to find out the sex of the baby that was only just now making Viria's stomach expand. The small bump had been the cause of much complaining, and nowadays Fred tuned out whenever Viria mentioned it. He knew she'd be beautiful no matter how big her baby bump was, and he didn't see any point in thinking otherwise.

Viria was told to lay down on a bed while the nurse, a sullen look on her face, did the complicated spell that would project the image of the baby inside Viria into the air before them.

"Oh my God, Fred!" Viria squeezed her husband's hand tighter, gawping at the image. Although their baby still looked somewhat like a small blob, she could clearly see the curve of the head and some bits that looked like they would, at some point, form arms and legs. Fred was gaping too, his eyes shining.

"Bloody Hell, Vi!"

"Don't move" the nurse said sharply as Viria tried to sit up and get a better look at the projection. She lay down again hurriedly, sharing a grimace with Fred as she did so. The nurse chewed on her gum.

"You want to know what it is?"

"Please" said Viria, her eyes still fixed on the picture, full of hunger as though she were trying to bring that wriggling mess to life.

The nurse turned away from them to study the solid copy of the projected image that she now held in her hand, muttering an incantation under her breath. Viria's nails were beginning to dig in to Fred's palm.

"It's a girl" said the nurse, "And very healthy she is, too"

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Viria sat up – the projection flickered and disappeared, but she no longer cared – and flung her arms around Fred. There were tears in her eyes.

"I win the bet!" Fred cried happily, though his voice sounded a little thick. Viria hugged him harder.

"Yeah, you did" she smiled, drew back to kiss him lightly, "I can't wait to tell everyone"

* * *

It was agreed that, every Friday, Viria would go and visit her parents, and if he could, Fred would go with her. It was also agreed that, on a Sunday, they spent the day with the Weasley's, eating one of Molly's delicious Sunday dinners. Sometimes, Viria enjoyed going to the Weasley's more than she enjoyed going to see her own parents. This was all down, of course, to her mother.

"A girl!" Frank grabbed his daughter and kissed her on both cheeks as soon as she walked in the door, "I did hope it would be a girl"

"I thought it was bound to be a boy, with Fred's genes, but obviously not" Viria hugged and kissed him back, cheeks pink and glowing – she always felt like a child again, happy and content, when with her Dad, "Did you really hope it would be a girl?"

"I could just picture you two with a little girl, you know? Are the Weasleys happy?"

"Ecstatic. You know how much Molly likes having women around, what with having six boys. Ginny's looking forward to it as well – she's already planning on setting her up with little Teddy Lupin when they're older"

"She'll be set for life" Frank chuckled, "And your sister-in-law, Fleur? Has she found out what she's having yet?"

"No, she finds out next week. I'm so glad Fred introduced us" unlike many of the other Weasleys, Viria genuinely liked Fleur. Not only was she the only person besides her mother who Viria could talk to in French, she was also charming, funny and very good at finding maternity clothes in preparation for what they referred to as their 'Heffalump Months', based on a Muggle cartoon they'd caught a glimpse of once.

"Viria, darling!"

Viria tried not to roll her eyes as Giselle flung her arms out, acting as though she hadn't seen her daughter for weeks. She walked reluctantly into the hug and let Giselle kiss her on both cheeks.

"Bonjour, Maman"

"Good girl, you're still speaking French! I thought being with those Weasleys would make you forget all levels of sophistication"

Every one of Viria's Friday visits started out with that sort of snarky comment. She jerked sharply out of the hug and thanked God that Fred hadn't been there to hear it.

"Just because the Weasleys live a simple life, Maman, it doesn't make us better than them" she said sternly, "In fact, it makes them a whole lot better than us"

"Pah, don't be ridiculous, dear. Come and sit down. I've made some dinner"

"Great. Thanks"

"Don't sound too enthusiastic, will you?" Frank murmured when Giselle left the room, looking sternly at his daughter but with twinkling eyes. Viria grinned back.

"You know how she winds me up. If it wasn't for you I don't think I'd come and visit her at all. She always has to make some sort of remark about Fred and – "

"Now, Viria, I've been thinking" Giselle came back into the room and Viria settled down onto the sofa, waiting with a strong desire to snap, "Having a girl is going to be _very_ expensive for you, girls always want so much – "

"That won't be a problem. You forget that Fred and George run their own business. And anyway, she'll have what we can afford. She'll grow up knowing that material things don't matter, if I've got anything to do with it"

Giselle snorted again, "Material goods _do_ matter, dear, very much. At least to normal girls. All I was going to say was that if money is ever an issue, we'd be quite happy to help out – "

"No, thank you" said Viria, making a vow to herself that she would never, _never_ accept charity from her mother, "It won't be needed"

"There's no need to be so offended, sweetheart. I'm only being kind"

Before Viria could reply, Frank cut in with a chirpy tone, "Any plans this weekend, Viria?"

"We're going to the Weasleys on Sunday, as usual. But Fred's brother Charlie is coming over, from Romania. He's going to come up and see the shop tomorrow afternoon, I think, then we'll see him again on Sunday"

"Oh, that'll be nice. You've never met him before, have you?"

"No, not yet. Fred says he's a bit of a player" Viria laughed, eyes twinkling, "I think I might try and set him up with someone!"

Frank rolled his eyes, "You are so like your mother"

Viria sent him a piercing glare, that would have killed him if looks could do so, though a grin twitched at the corner of her lips, "If you ever say that to me again, I'll get Fred to stick a firework up your arse"

**A/N: I'm sorry about this chapter, I feel like it's a bit nothing-y. Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you so much for reviewing, especially after what I thought was a somewhat poor chapter! Hopefully this one will make up for it...thank you for reading and please review!**

_I say can you believe it?  
As we're lying on the couch  
The moment I could see it  
Yes, yes, I can see it now_

_Do you remember we were sitting there by the water?_  
_You put your arm around me for the first time_  
_You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter_  
_You are the best thing that's ever been mine – Mine, Taylor Swift._

"There he is!" George let out a loud whoop and leapt out from behind the till, towards his older brother. Fred had soon followed, both of them running over to Charlie, who had once been their idol, like five year olds. The few customers in the shop – it was close to closing time – looked round at the excited twins and smiled as they launched themselves at Charlie.

"Wow! This place is amazing. You've done more with it since I last came, right?"

"We sure have" Fred replied, grinning, "A lot's happened since you last came"

"So I hear" Charlie ran his hands over his hair, which was almost as long as Bill's, "Married with a baby on the way, eh? And Georgie Porgie here seeing the lovely Angelina Johnson? How times change" he ruffled their hair, and both men winced. Fred moved towards the stairs.

"Vi!" he hollered, "Vi, Charlie's here!"

They heard the patter of her footsteps coming down the stairs, and she appeared with a bright, welcoming smile, which widened when she saw Charlie.

"Hi! Wow, it always amazes me how much you Weasleys look alike. I'm Viria" she moved towards her brother-in-law, holding out her hand. Charlie stared at her for a minute, then took her hand and kissed it. Viria coloured.

"Charlie. It's great to finally meet you. Fred's told me so much about you...never that you were so beautiful, though"

Viria giggled, clearly embarrassed. Fred exchanged a glance with George before glaring at Charlie. In his excitement he'd forgotten the fact that Charlie had always been the player of their family. He moved to stand beside Viria, putting an arm around her waist.

"I definitely told you that" he said sharply, but Charlie didn't take the hint. He was still staring at Viria.

"We certainly don't get girls like you in Romania" he added, somewhat wistfully. Viria giggled again, still blushing.

"Stop it, you're embarrassing me!"

"Don't be silly, I'm just being a good brother-in-law! And I thought you were pregnant?"

"I am" Viria responded, looking confused. Charlie exaggerated shock.

"Merlin's beard! I'd never have believed it – you're not showing at all!"

"I am, don't be ridiculous" Viria retorted, but she was smiling again. Fred's scowl was deepening.

"Okay, Charlie, that's enough" he cut in, now playing possessively with a curl of Viria's dark hair, "Didn't you have something you were doing, Vi?"

Viria looked at him, smiling, "Oh, yes. I was just doing the dinner while I looked at the accounts. Will you being staying for dinner, Charlie?"

"That'd be lovely, Viria! Thank you" Charlie replied gallantly, eyes twinkling. Viria smiled at him, then pecked Fred on the cheek before making to leave.

"Oh, Fred, did you want me to carry this box up?" she gestured to a box of old stock sitting at the bottom of the stairs. Fred shook his head hurriedly.

"No, Vi, I'd rather you didn't. I'll bring it up"

"I'm not an invalid, Fred" Viria sighed, rolling her eyes and bending down to pick up the box. Charlie's eyes almost popped out on stalks.

"Look at that _arse_!"

Fred whirled round to face him as Viria lugged the box away, "Don't, Charlie" he growled. Charlie grinned innocently, shrugging.

"What? I wasn't doing anything!"

"Charlie, I've never seen you flirt that much with anyone! Back me up, George, please"

"You were being a bit full-on, Charlie" George put in, then quickly moved back to the till to serve a customer, not wanting to get involved.

"Can you blame me? Fred, she's gorgeous. I don't know how the hell you managed it, but I am very impressed"

"Just stop hitting on her, Charlie, alright? I _know_ she's gorgeous, I _know_ she has a nice arse. You don't need to tell me those things"

"Nice isn't the _word_"

"_Charlie_..."

"Okay, okay! I don't want to start a row on my visit. I'll behave myself"

"You'd better. No more flirting"

"No more flirting, I swear"

Charlie's eyes were still twinkling, but Fred decided he wasn't going to get much more of a promise than that.

"Charlie's so nice" said Viria brightly as she changed for bed that night, "So charming! I'm so glad he came to visit"

"Hm" Fred mumbled. He was already in bed, trying to distract himself from his annoyance with Charlie by reading the Daily Prophet. Viria continued.

"I really couldn't have married into a nicer family, could I? You have no idea how much I look forward to Sundays. It'll be even more fun tomorrow, with Charlie there – "

"Look, can we just stop talking about Charlie?" Fred snapped at last, putting the paper aside, "He's only been back a day and I'm sick of him"

Viria looked taken aback, "What? I thought you'd be pleased that we got on so well, I thought it would make you happy"

"It'd make me a whole lot happier if he'd stop flirting with you"

"Flirting with – Oh, Fred!" Viria laughed, sitting down on the bed beside him, "You're seriously jealous?"

"Of course I am" Fred muttered sulkily, "He was flirting with you! You giggled! You _blushed_!"

"I can't believe you're feeling that insecure about it! Surely you can see he was just being kind?"

Fred's look of mutiny had soon changed to one of confusion, "Kind? What?"

Viria's face coloured, but in a very different way to how it had done with Charlie's compliments, "Well, of course he wasn't being serious! He can't call me beautiful – not with this face!" she laughed, but it had a bitter edge to it. Fred knew she was still self-conscious about her scars, and probably always would be. Sometimes, she didn't even like for _him_ to touch them or see them, let alone other people.

He shook his head, reaching out to touch the prominent red line on her cheek, "No, Vi, no. Don't be ridiculous. You're still beautiful, even with those scars. You know that. I tell you every day"

"Yeah, but you're my husband. Charlie didn't really think those things he was saying – he was probably just as repulsed by this stupid thing as I am – he was just trying to be kind because we've never met before and he wanted to put me at ease"

"No!" it was Fred's turn to protest, "Charlie genuinely finds you attractive, Vi. A lot of men do. You may not see them looking at you, because I do. They're my competition, I have to notice them. You're as beautiful as you were the day I met you, and you didn't have the scars then. And don't start going on about your baby bump, because you're barely showing. You're gorgeous, just like Charlie said, and you always will be"

Viria's eyes were blurred with tears, "You really think so?"

"I really know so" Fred hesitated, "That's why I don't like Charlie being so flirty with you. He said it, too, what everyone says – how did _I _manage to get a girl like _you_? That's what makes me worry, because I don't understand why you chose me either!"

"Because I love you, you idiot!" Viria laughed incredulously, "Fred, we were meant to be! You know we were. You're kind and funny and clever and _I _happen to think that you're gorgeous, too" she planted a kiss on his lips, "If I'm not allowed to be insecure about my scars, you're not allowed to be insecure about Charlie. Even if he ever did try to start something, you seriously think I'd respond? It's you I want, not him, okay?"

Before he could respond Viria was kissing him, her hair brushing his cheek, tongue tracing the outline of his lips. Fred's body edged closer to hers, and Viria moved to kiss his neck, the sparse hairs on his chest.

"You do believe me, don't you?" she said suddenly, moving her lips away from his skin and looking at him with wide green eyes.

"Of course" Fred said hoarsely, drawing her on top of him, "Though you'll have to prove it, obviously"

A spark lit in Viria's eyes and she snaked her hips slightly against him, making his eyes darken with desire. She moved her lips back to his chest.

"Really? And how would you suggest that I go about doing that?"

Fred groaned slightly as her lips moved further down, "You're a creative woman. I'm sure you can think of some – _thing_!"

Viria smirked to herself, "Yes, it seems that I can"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey! It's been kind of a long while, hasn't it? Sorry. Thanks so much for all the reviews, I'm glad you liked the chapter and the fluffiness. Just a warning – this chapter contains some slightly mature themes. I know most people that read fanfiction don't really care (I certainly don't!) but some of you might like a heads up **** Please review!**

_I'm so in love with you  
Purge the soul  
Make love your goal_

_The power of love_  
_A force from above_  
_Cleaning my soul_  
_Flame on burn desire_  
_Love with tongues of fire_  
_Purge the soul_  
_Make love your goal_

_I'll protect you from the hooded claw_  
_Keep the vampires from your door_  
_When the chips are down, I'll be around – The Power of Love, Frankie Goes to Hollywood (though I'm mentally singing the Gabrielle Aplin version)_

Viria, Fred and George arrived at the Burrow the next morning when Mrs. Weasley was in full, Sunday-dinner flow. Running round the kitchen, red hair sticking out on end and waving her wand in every direction, she looked more than a little harassed. Ginny and Fleur were attempting to help, but they weren't getting anything but grumbles for their troubles.

Ginny looked relieved to see them, and came rushing over, grabbing Viria's hand.

"We need to talk. Now"

Viria looked back over her shoulder at Fred, alarmed, but he and George had already been distracted by Bill, Harry and Ron's discussion of the most violent accidents they'd seen while watching a Quidditch match. Ginny pulled Viria into the hallway, eyes sparkling.

"You're not still angry with me, are you?" Viria asked warily, "I didn't _mean_ to yell it out like that, I was so surprised, that's all – "

"So was I! You never told me it would be like that!"

"Like...wait, what? You're not angry anymore?"

"No" Ginny grinned, "Far from it. I'm positively cheerful"

"Oh" Viria looked startled for a minute, then a slow grin spread across her own face, "_Oh_. That. I did try. You never wanted to hear it – it does make it awkward that all my experience came from your brother, I guess"

"It certainly did" Ginny grimaced slightly.

"So it went...well?" Viria wriggled her eyebrows. Ginny giggled, a most un-Ginny-like thing to do.

"More than well"

"And no-one else found out?"

"Other than the entire clientele of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, no" Viria opened her mouth to apologise again, then realised Ginny was trying not to laugh. She dealt her a sharp elbow in the ribs.

"Stop making me feel guilty!"

"Sorry, sorry. I'll be good"

The head of Charlie Weasley suddenly came poking into the hallway, a mischievous grin rather like the ones Fred and George so often wore written all over his face.

"What are you two whispering about?" he asked nosily, "Being away so often I miss out on all the family gossip. Hey, Viria"

"Hey, Charlie" said Viria, determined to be cool and distant even though she did find Charlie a lot of fun – she didn't want to annoy Fred again.

She and Ginny, knowing that Charlie wouldn't leave them be now he'd caught them gossiping, emerged back out into the living room. Fred and George were already suggesting a session with some Firewhisky after dinner, which Hermione did not look too pleased about.

Charlie kissed Viria's cheek, "It's so nice to have you part of the family, Viria"

"Thank you, Charlie" said Viria, who couldn't resist a smile, "It's nice to be part of the family. If you'd met my mother, you'd understand why yours means so much to me"

Charlie chuckled, "Yeah, Fred did say she's a bit of a nightmare. That bad?"

"I'll have to introduce you to her one day, on your next visit. You'll get rather a shock"

They both laughed, and as she did so Viria caught Fred's eye. He was scowling. She winked.

* * *

They had just finished dinner and were ploughing reluctantly through a delicious treacle tart, of which Harry had had three slices, when five owls landed on the windowsill outside and proceed to tap upon the glass. These owls were handsome and bright-eyed, the complete opposite to Errol, who was eyeing them enviously from inside his cage. Rubbing his rather bloated stomach, Percy rose from the table and unlatched the window. The owls, without pausing for a moment, dropped their letters in the centre of the table and flew right out again.

"Oh, poor dears. I was going to give them some leftovers" said Molly forlornly, looking at the remains of the delicious but huge dinner that she had so lovingly prepared, "Who are the letters for, Arthur?"

"Mr Harry Potter" Arthur read curiously, handing them out, "Miss Hermione Granger. Mr Ronald Weasley. Miss Ginny Weasley. Oh, and Mrs Viria Weasley"

Viria, still unused to her new surname, did not at first register, not until Fred took the letter and dropped it into her lap.

"Go on, Vi. What is it?"

"They want us to go back to Hogwarts!" Ginny yelped, "They want us back!"

"Of course they do, dear, you had a year left"

"No, all of us" put in Hermione excitedly, "They want us to return and finish the years that we never got to do. So us three will be doing Seventh Year, and Ginny and Viria will be redoing their Sixth Year"

A babble of voices broke out along the table.

"McGonagall did always say that if there were students willing to learn, she'd teach" said Harry thoughtfully, "I guess she's just keeping her promise"

"So we can still train to be Aurors?" Ron queried. Hermione snorted.

"We've had enough training to last a lifetime! But yes, I suppose we can"

Viria was staring down at the writing on her letter with an expression of stunned surprise on her face. Then, before anyone could do or say anything, she had leapt from her seat and run from the table, throwing the letter on the floor as she went. Everyone fell silent.

Fred jumped up from his seat, "I don't know what's wrong with her, I'll have to go after her – "

"Maybe she's being sick. She won't want her to see you like that. I'll go" Ginny put in reluctantly, rising also. Fleur had soon followed.

"No, I understand. I will go to her"

Ginny and Fred both turned to argue. Molly sighed heavily.

"For Merlin's sake! I'll go. You all stay here and let her be"

Molly found Viria sitting on the stairs, head in her hands. Her shoulders were shaking with sobs.

"Viria! Oh, dear, whatever is the matter?" forcing her plump backside onto the step beside her daughter-in-law, Molly put an arm around Viria and drew her close. Viria turned her face to Molly's shoulder.

"What is it, Viria? Come on now, you'll have to tell me"

"I'M PREGNANT!" Viria shrieked, and cried all the more heavily. Molly frowned.

"Yes, dear, I know. You and Fred have been so happy about the baby! You do want her, don't you?"

"Oh, of course I do!" Viria cried, raising her tear-streaked face to look up at Molly's bemused one, "Of course I want her. I'm so happy about the baby and Fred and me. I just...I was happy about it in the beginning because I didn't think there was any chance I'd ever be able to go back to Hogwarts. I thought that, because we had our O. W L s , they'd just leave us with them and not give us the chance to take our N.E. W Ts , after everything that happened"

"I don't understand, Viria, sweetheart"

"I wouldn't have had a baby if I'd known I could go back! I'm good at magic, I know I am, Molly, it's the one thing I could do! And now I won't ever have my N.E. to prove it"

"Oh, Viria, my dear!" Molly laughed and hugged her, "Is that what you're worried about? That people will think you weren't clever enough to get your N.E.W Ts? I don't have any N.E.W Ts, dear. Bill came along too quickly for that. Didn't you wonder why I've always understood your relationship with Fred so much? It's because you two are the same as me and Arthur"

"You don't?" Viria snivelled pathetically.

"No, I don't! And you may just see me as a dull old housewife – "

"No, of course not!" Viria protested, and Molly smiled.

"Thank you, dear. I was going to say, people may see me and just a housewife, but – "she puffed out her chest with pride, "– I killed Bellatrix Lestrange. I've got enough magic in me to protect my children, and trust me, in a few months time you'll see just how important that is. More important than anything, I'd say"

Viria, tears drying all on their own, looked at Molly with relief etched all over her face, "You're sure?"

"Of course I am. We're very similar, you and I. Or we soon will be. And I've done alright for myself, aside from never having two Galleons to rub together! You won't have that problem, though. I wasn't keen on this joke shop business in the beginning, but I must admit, they seem to be doing very well for themselves"

"Oh, they are" Viria agreed vehemently, "Thank you, Molly. You're a better mother to me than my real mother is. How does that work, eh?"

"Years of practice" Molly laughed, "And you'll be good at it too. As soon as you look at your daughter, you won't regret for a second that you don't have your N.E. W Ts. Nothing will ever matter to you more than her and Fred. I promise"

When Viria and Molly emerged back into the living room, she guessed that everyone must have been listening in – Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny appeared to have hidden their letters and looked solemn enough that, had she not known better, she would have assumed someone had died. Fleur and Arthur were clearing away the dinner plates, and Molly rushed over to help them.

Viria looked around for Fred, and noticed that he was arguing. With Charlie. Somewhat loudly.

"Viria!" Charlie spotted her and came over, beaming, "You okay?" he kissed her hand and Viria smiled, more incredulously than anything. Fred's face was like thunder.

"I'm fine, thanks. I just need to talk to Fred" an idea suddenly came to Viria, an idea probably born of the emotion she felt and the furious look on Fred's face, "And George. George, come over here!"

Charlie looked bemused as Viria led Fred and George away from him, "Fred, I know that Charlie's really pissing you off – "

"I'm going to kill him!" Fred hissed, "I was supposed to ask if you were okay, if he'd just moved his bloody big head out the way -"

Viria rested her hands on his, "Calm. Listen, I've got a plan. And trust me, it'll make Charlie realise that he can never hope to replace you in my affections" she was grinning roguishly. Her talk with Molly had buoyed her spirits and she was ready to have a bit of fun. And who better to make a plot with than Fred and George?

"I'm interested" said Fred curiously, a slow grin spreading across his face. Viria smirked.

"Good. George, we're going to need your help. You in?"

"Sure I am. You know how I love a plan" George grinned too, "What do I have to do?"

Viria looked thoughtful for a minute, "You just have to make Charlie come upstairs, to the top floor, in about..." she surveyed Fred thoughtfully, "Ten minutes? I think I can work with ten minutes"

Both twins looked confused, but George nodded, "Deal. You can count on me, Viria"

* * *

Mere moments later, Viria was clattering up the stairs, pulling an extremely bemused Fred by the hand. By the time they reached the bedroom they had shared on their wedding night he was breathless and laughing.

"Vi, what the hell is going on?"

Viria slammed the door behind them and threw all her weight at Fred so he fell with a loud thump on to the bed. He had stopped laughing and now looked simply confused. Viria climbed on top of him and set to work on the belt holding up his jeans. Fred gawped at her.

"Vi, seriously, now?! I really don't get how this is going to help!"

"It's going to help because I've had a crappy shock and we need to teach Charlie a lesson, and you need to stop asking questions because I need to be screaming your name loud enough for Charlie to hear within – " she paused, looking at her watch, "Eight minutes"

The idea suddenly clicked. Fred grinned, and reached out to yank her top off over her head.

"Is that a challenge, Mrs Weasley?"

Viria rolled her eyes, but she was clearly trying not to smile, "If that's what you want, yes, it's a challenge"

"I accept!"

* * *

"Why do I have to come up here again? I think you're up to something"

"I'm not!" George lied quickly and with ease, "Me and Fred store some of our products up here, I thought you could pick some to take back to Romania and sell"

"I get eighty percent of the profit, right?"

"No! Twenty-five"

"Seventy"

Their haggling was interrupted by a loud groan from behind one of the doors. George was glad that the lighting wasn't too good – he was struggling not to laugh as he realised what Viria had been planning and he was sure Charlie would have noticed, had the light been brighter.

"What was that?" Charlie looked bemused, "Is it the ghoul?"

George tried very hard not to snort, "No, I don't think so. I think...oh. I know what that is. Oops. Maybe we should leave..."

Charlie opened his mouth to ask another question when came a second, much louder moan. That one sounded more like Viria than the first one, George thought, then wished he hadn't.

Charlie's eyes widened, "Oh crap. Is that - ?"

"Oh my God. Oh my _God_. Fred. _FRED_!"

George couldn't help it, he spluttered with laughter. The worst thing was, he was pretty sure Viria wasn't faking. Charlie looked absolutely mortified.

"Oh, Vi..._Vi_..."

"I think that answered my question" said Charlie quickly, "I've been making a right idiot of myself, haven't I?"

Before George could agree that yes, he had, Charlie went flying off down the stairs, red with embarrassment. George cracked up laughing, and by the time Viria opened the door, pink-cheeked and grinning, tears were streaming down his cheeks.

"Did it work?" Viria asked eagerly, "I don't see Charlie anywhere"

"It worked. I think Charlie's realised that there's one very obvious reason you would never leave Fred"

Viria high-fived him, "Yes! I knew it! Come on, Fred, how impressed are you right now?!"

Fred emerged, looking slightly dazed, "Very. Very, very impressed, Vi"

George, gulping in deep lungfuls of air, reached out and shook Viria's hand, "You two were truly made for each other, weren't you?"


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hi! Sorry for the gap between updates, everything gets so hectic around Christmas in my life. Thank you so much for the reviews, glad everyone enjoyed the chapter and found the idea of Viria tormenting Charlie as amusing as I did! Please review!**

_Always when we fight, I try to make you laugh  
until everything's forgotten, I know you hate that_

_ba ba ra ra ba ba ba ba_  
_ba ba ra ra ba ba ba ba_

_always when we fight, I kiss you once or twice_  
_and everything's forgotten, I know you hate that_

_I love you Sunday sun, the week's not yet begun_  
_and everything's quiet and it's always_

_you and me, always, and forever_  
_you and me, always, and forever_  
_ba ba ba ba ba_  
_it was always, you and me, always – You and Me Always and Forever, The Wannadies._

When Fred and Viria emerged downstairs a few minutes later, closely followed by a still sniggering George, Viria was extremely satisfied to see the look of complete mortification on Charlie Weasley's face.

"Where have you two been?" asked Molly cheerfully, "And you, George, honestly, I was just handing round some homemade chocolates, your favourite"

"Ooh, great! Thanks Mum" while George disappeared with his mother to nab the rest of the chocolates, Fred and Viria wandered casually over to Fred, hands clasped and swinging.

"You've gone very quiet all of a sudden, Charlie" Viria observed chirpily, "Are you alright? You don't look well"

"I'm fine" Charlie muttered, clearly avoiding their eyes, "I'm fine"

He walked briskly away towards Ron, whom Hermione was trying to get to bond with Crookshanks – "He's sweet really, Ron, and it's not as though Scabbers is around anymore...if you'd just try to get on with him..." – and Ginny moved away from the group to come over to the giggling Fred and Viria, looking suspicious.

"What did you two do? Charlie disappeared upstairs just after you did and he's barely spoken a word since he came back down – plus he didn't make a single inappropriate comment about your boobs or your arse in that entire conversation" she eyed the couple as though trying to puzzle them out. Viria smirked.

"Never you mind what we did, let's just revel in the fact that Charlie's no longer acting like an arrogant prat, shall we?"

Ginny snorted, "Cheers to that. I love Charlie, but he's been quite sickening with you lately"

They all laughed in unison. Seeing this Harry came over and, in a movement that seemed almost automatic, put his arm around Ginny's waist to draw her closer to him. She smiled, slightly sheepishly, noticing Fred's face darken and Viria's knowing smile.

"What are you laughing at? Is this about Ron and Crookshanks?" Harry queried, looking thoroughly amused. Ginny looked up at him, puzzled.

"No. Why, what's happening with Ron and Crookshanks?"

A loud yowl came from the armchair Ron was sitting in and the four of them turned to see a shrieking Ron being scratched to shreds by a clearly disapproving Crookshanks. Hermione was trying to drag the cat off her boyfriend, voice shrill.

"Oh, Ron, I'm sorry, he probably just doesn't like sharing me – stop it, Crookshanks! Bad Crookshanks! Oh goodness, Ron, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to poke you as well – oh, really, this is ridiculous – "

"Think we should help?" Fred chortled, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.

"Nah, leave them to it" Harry grinned back, still doubled over, "I'm sure he'll live"

"OW! CROOKSHANKS!"

* * *

A week after their clever trick and Charlie's abrupt departure, Viria entered into her fourth month of pregnancy, and almost overnight, Fred saw a change in his young wife.

Gone was the Viria who was willing to play practical jokes, who baked amazing cupcakes and who danced around the kitchen singing to Muggle music. Instead, some sort of Gremlin seemed to have taken over Viria's mind, and Fred wasn't too keen on the change. She was moody, irritable, and where in the first three months of her pregnancy she had been practically begging for sex every night, she now glared at Fred every time he even offered up the suggestion.

It all began one morning when Fred was woken up by a loud scream coming from the bathroom. Dazed and fearing the worst, he stumbled into the onsuite and found Viria standing in front of the full-length mirror, wearing only a towel and gazing at herself in complete and utter revulsion.

"Vi?! Vi, what's wrong?"

She turned to glower at him so fiercely that Fred was surprised he didn't crumble to dust on the very spot where he stood, "What do you _think_ is wrong with me?" her voice was low and dangerous and made Fred feel slightly disturbed.

"Um...I don't know?"

"I. Am. Fat. Huge. _Gargantuan_! Look at the size of me, look!"

The curve of her stomach was indeed, undeniably, but Fred thought that the last thing in the world he would have called her at that point in time was fat. He especially would not have called her gargantuan.

"Everything okay? I heard something" George poked his head around the door, Angelina peeping over his shoulder, both looking worried. Fred shook his head urgently.

"No, nothing. Don't worry"

George and Angelina looked at each other and shrugged in unison before disappearing again. Fred heard Angelina giggle as they disappeared and tried to remember the time, not long before, when Viria used to giggle.

"Nothing?! NOTHING? Look at me, for Merlin's sake!" Viria wailed, eyes blazing. Fred advanced warily towards her.

"Vi, I promise you, you don't look fat. Honestly. You look beautiful"

There, at least, he wasn't lying – he'd always thought Viria to be at her most beautiful when angry. Though she was slightly scary at the same time, especially as she didn't look at all convinced.

"Don't you dare lie to me! I look absolutely hideous, you can't deny it – "

"Of course I can deny it, if it's not true" he replied earnestly, moving closer towards her. The expression on her face did not soften.

"Get dressed, Fred. I'm not in the mood for flattery"

He sighed heavily to himself as he turned away and Viria slammed the bathroom door behind him. He was starting to wish the pregnancy was over already.

* * *

Viria seemed in a better mood as the month progressed. One evening, George was staying at Angelina's for the night and Fred and Viria were curled up under a blanket, listening to the radio while Viria flicked through _Witch Weekly_ and read out her favourite extracts for Fred.

"Listen to this, Fred, this woman tore her husband's eyebrows out with a hair-cutting spell during an argument and she's been fined a hundred Galleons!"

"Mhm" Fred murmured, listening to the Quidditch results and trying to sound interested, "That's nice"

"It's really not nice at all. I should stop buying this magazine, the stories are always so gruesome – oh, look, love potions, we could send one to Charlie in Romania and he might leave me be for all eternity"

A few moments of silence ensued, broken by the whining tones of Molly Weasley's idol, Celestina Warbeck, as Fred read the article over Viria's shoulder. Almost unconsciously, his hand was sliding up her thigh underneath the blanket. Viria, suddenly scowling, slapped it with the magazine.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Fred yelped, withdrawing his hand and clutching it to his chest.

"I told you, I'm not in the mood"

"I don't recall hearing you say that"

"I didn't think I had to"

"Let's be fair about this, Vi, what usually ends up happening when we're snuggled under a blanket?"

She coloured slightly, but seemed determined to stand her ground, "No"

"But you're almost in your fifth month now, Vi, and you've been in this mood since the beginning of the fourth..." he whined, toying with her hair. She slapped his hand away again.

"Give over, or I'll hex you"

"This is getting ridiculous – "

"Good God, Fred, I'm sure you'll manage!" she snapped, rising from the sofa and turning to glare at him, "I'm going to bed. _Alone_"

"Vi! No, wait, come on – I really think we need to talk about your mood swings"

This was clearly not the right approach; Viria slammed the bedroom door in his face.

* * *

When Fred dared to venture to bed almost three hours later, he found that Viria was still awake. She had the light on and was reading, and though she did not look entirely happy, she didn't look like she was about to murder him and feed his remains to Crookshanks anymore either, which must surely have been a good sign.

"Hey" he said tentatively, "Couldn't sleep?"

"No" she paused for a minute, "Look, Fred, I'm sorry, okay? I know I've been a crappy wife lately but I'm just so tired and so...angry, all the time. Ginny keeps teasing me and saying it's my hormones and I guess it must be, even though I always said I'd never use that as an excuse...but I am sorry, okay?"

Her voice was still slightly irked as she apologised, but Fred decided that even a grudging apology was better than none. Taking advantage of her good mood, he leaned over to give her a light, reassuring goodnight kiss, which he was delighted to discover that she responded to.

"It doesn't matter. Well, it does, but I understand. We're bound to fight sometimes, especially with so much going on. It's okay. In just over four months this will all be over – we'll have a baby girl and it'll just be a bad memory"

Viria did look slightly reassured, and smiled slightly, "Yeah. Yeah, you're right"

"Always am" Fred replied, puffing out his chest before climbing into bed beside her. He was once again delighted as she laughed at him.

"Not always" as he lay down, she laid her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist, "You can be a prat sometimes"

"Only sometimes" he traced the tip of his finger up and down the ridges of her spine, "So, Vi..."

She sighed and sat up, rolling her eyes, "Yes, Fred, you can have what you want. It's the only way to stop you driving me mental, isn't it?"

He grinned cheerfully, "I think it might be, yes" and launched on her with such enthusiasm that the pair of them ended up on the floor, laughing as though they hadn't laughed for years.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hi, sorry for the huge gap between updates, December is just such a hectic month! Hope you all had a good Christmas and I wish you all, in advance, a very happy New Year. Thank you so much for the reviews and for reading – you've made my year **** Please review!**

_I keep you with me in my heart_

_You make it easier when life gets hard_

_I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend_

_Lucky to have been where I have been – Lucky, Colbie Caillat and Jason Mraz_

"Oh, really, Fleur, you're having a girl too? That's wonderful!"

Fred smirked to himself as he put Viria's bowl of Cheery-Owls cereal on the coffee table. She was using the trilling falsetto voice she used when she was pretending to be nice, or pretending to be pleased, and she was frowning.

"Yes, yes, it will be nice for our girl to have a playmate" a pause; then, through gritted teeth, "Yes, I suppose they will have to fight over little Teddy now, won't they? Haha. Yeah. Wrong? No, no, I'm fine – just a bit queasy, you know"

Fred flopped down in the seat opposite her in order to better observe her facial expressions.

"No, no, Fleur, honestly, I don't need you to come over – I'm – I'm working today, anyway. Oh, it does me no harm, you know, Fred's a terrible slave driver when it comes to the shop"

Fred opened his mouth in protest and Viria mimed a hasty apology at him, rolling her eyes in the direction of the phone.

"Yes...oh, yes, Fleur, I'm sure it would be lovely for all of us to go on a holiday to France once the girls are born"

Fred went to protest again, and Viria shook her head sharply.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Fleur, I'm going to have to go – Fred's calling – " she urged him with her eyes and Fred promptly yelled;

"Vi!" from the very seat opposite her. Viria beamed at him.

"Yes, he is loud, isn't he? Right, see you soon then, Fleur. Au Revoir"

"Why did we ever invest in one of these stupid contraptions?" Viria snapped, slamming down the phone, "Thanks for rescuing me. She can get hold of me all the time now and she never stops talking – and oh, for Merlin's sake, the cereal's gone all soggy now – "

Fred snorted with laughter, "Here, have mine. I thought you liked Fleur?"

"I do" Viria replied through a mouthful of mushy wheat, "But only in small doses. She's only gone and got pregnant with a girl aswell!"

"And? It doesn't matter that we're both having girls, does it?"

"Of course it does! Our poor baby is going to feel obliged to play with Fleur's sprog. She'll be trapped. Plus they'll have to fight over Teddy, and I did so want Isabella to have him – "

"Wait a minute" Fred cut across her, looking confused, "Who's Isabella?"

Viria coloured slightly, "Oh. That's what our daughter's called. Right, anyway, I'd better get dress-"

"Oh no you don't!" Fred was torn between annoyance and amusement, "You're already dressed. And since when did you decide our daughter's name without consulting me? We've never discussed names"

"Yes we did. The night you got drunk on the Firewhisky with George" Viria improvised merrily. Fred narrowed his eyes.

"Vi, I haven't been drinking because you're not allowed to drink, remember? We have not discussed names"

"Oh" she looked slightly defeated and flopped back down into her seat, "Well. Do you want to discuss names?"

"Yes, of course!" Fred replied, still irked but now very close to laughter, "Tonight, after work, okay?"

She scowled, "Fine. If we must. But I want to call her Isabella"

"We'll see" he smirked, somewhat maddeningly, and she muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'stupid sack of owl dung' under her breath as she left the flat and made her way down to the shop below.

* * *

Viria was discussing the impending birth of her daughter with an old witch who seemed to be surrounded by at least twenty golden-haired grandchildren, all clamouring for one of Fred and George's trick wands, when she felt a pair of arms seize her from behind. She shrieked, thinking it was Fred, and turned around to find a wonderful surprise.

Ginny, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Luna, fresh from their first term back at Hogwarts, were crowded in the shop doorway, grinning at her; it was Ginny's slender arms that were currently forcing the breath from her lungs.

"Gin!" Viria gasped, "Hermione, Harry...what are you all doing here?!"

"Term's finished, of course. You should know that it's almost Christmas, Vi, the shop's decorated with enough tinsel to decorate Santa's grotto" Ginny replied cheerfully, "Get that gormless look off your face, will you, you might swallow a fly"

Viria gave a delighted shriek of laughter and flung her arms around Ginny; then she moved amongst her friends, kissing them all in turn, even a blushing Neville. Fred and George were standing by the till, grinning at her enthusiasm; the elderly witch had disappeared.

"Did you know?" Viria asked Fred excitedly, "Did you know they were coming back?"

"Of course I did. They're all coming over for dinner tonight, as well. You'd have known, too, if you looked at the calendar"

"Bloody Hell, Viria, the size of you!" Ron exclaimed, earning himself an elbow in the ribs from Hermione and a dark glower from Viria.

"You are pretty big now" Ginny conceded apologetically, "Not long to wait now, though!"

Viria rubbed her huge stomach self-consciously and felt the now familiar twitch of the baby kicking her, "No, not long at all. Have you heard, though, Fleur's having a girl as well?"

"Then we've got to hope it inherits Bill's genes, otherwise it'll be a right brat" Ginny grimaced.

"I thought you were going to be nicer to Fleur now?" said Hermione reproachfully. Ginny looked blankly at her.

"When did I say that? I'll be nice to her the day she stops kissing Harry every time he enters the poxy room – "

"I told her she shouldn't keep doing that" Harry put in hurriedly, and Ginny rolled her eyes.

"You didn't tell her with much force, though, did you?" she retorted crossly, but there was a slight smile on her lips and she winked slyly at Viria behind Harry's back.

Viria had never been so glad to see Ginny in all her life.

* * *

The ten of them were treated to a large helping of the only dish Fred could cook (macaroni cheese), as all of his and Viria' meals seemed to involve pasta in some shape or form, and were greatly enjoying each other's company that evening. Harry hadn't seen Angelina properly since the last Quidditch game they'd played together in fifth year, and the two of them were discussing Oliver Wood's increasing success with rising envy. Luna was sitting on the floor with her head on Neville's knee, stroking a purring Crookshanks. Ron and George were attempting to teach Hermione the finer points of wizard chess. Fred, Ginny and Viria were discussing baby names.

"I don't see what's wrong with Isabella" said Viria defensively, "I like it"

"Too French" Ginny and Fred chorused together, and Viria glared at them.

"Well I'm half-French! I like French names. My name is French!"

"And I love your name" Fred replied smoothly, "But it's not your name that I'm giving our daughter, is it?"

"I've got a brilliant one" Ginny piped up. They both looked at her.

"Ginevra" she said promptly, with a bright smile. Fred and Viria both laughed.

"You'll be her godmother, isn't that enough?" Viria grinned, and Ginny gaped at her.

"Will I? Seriously? You never said!"

"Of course you will. I know you're already her Aunt, but, well, Godmother's different, isn't it? You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not! Thank you!" Ginny squealed and hugged them both, "What about her other Godmother?"

"We're still trying to decide" Viria whispered, "Hermione or Luna. Hermione will be good to counterbalance you, as you'll doubtless lead her astray"

"It's my duty" Ginny agreed solemnly, "And godfather?"

"George, of course" the couple chorused, and grinned at each other.

"That's one thing you agree on – why can't you agree on a name?"

"What names do you like?" Viria asked Fred, slightly aggressively, "What name is better than Isabella?"

"Well, I actually do have one picked out, too...one I really like..." he sounded hopeful.

"Go on then" Viria urged, curious despite herself.

"Bonnie"


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I am so sorry for the update gap, I've been a bad person! But thank you so much for the reviews, and now to a rather belated festive chapter! Sorry about that, I should probably have tried to get this one up before Christmas...oops. Please review!**

_Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow_

_Don't care it's cold outside_

_Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow_

_I'll keep you warm tonight_

_Through the good times and bad_

_Happy and sad_

_I'm still holding on_

_I know what I have_

_And all that I want is Christmas Eve with you – Christmas Eve with you, Glee cast (I couldn't find the original lyrics but I assume they're the same)_

"I've just realised something"

"Mmm?" Fred sounded supremely unconcerned; he was listening to the Quidditch report on the Quidditch Network. Viria rolled her eyes and waited until the report was finished before continuing – he didn't even seem to have noticed that she'd stopped speaking.

"It's our first Christmas Eve together. I mean, not our _first_, exactly, but our first proper one, with everyone here and us being married and everything" she craned her neck to look up at him; she was lying back against him, wrapped in a large, heavily-knitted jumper.

Fred smiled, twining a lock of hair around his finger, "Yeah. Yeah, I guess it is. It's gone quickly"

"It has" she agreed, looking thoughtfully at her hugely rounded belly and rubbing it as though she wished she could make it small again, "But I'm happy. Are you happy?"

His smile widened into a grin, "Of course I am. Of course I'm happy"

She sighed contentedly, "Good" a pause, "Shame we can't have Christmas on our own too, really"

"Ah. Ah, no, no, no. I know that tone. You're wishing we could, aren't you?"

She moved to look at him again, hopefully, "Well we could, couldn't we? Maybe make an excuse? Our first married Christmas and all that?"

"I don't think so, Vi. Mum would kill us, you know she thinks you're the greatest thing to ever have graced the Earth!" he hesitated, "This isn't about my family, is it? It's about your Mother"

Viria groaned, burying her face in the cushion, "Fine. You caught me. Yes! Why can't we just see Papa? Why can't we lock Maman up in a cupboard or something? It's not even like we'll get rid of her after we've been for breakfast, they'll be at your parents' too...I can't deal with that much of her in one day"

Fred couldn't help laughing at her horror, "We'll distract her. Palm her off on Fleur all day – she loves Fleur, doesn't she?"

"Only because Fleur speaks French perfectly and is the golden-haired angel my mother never got" Viria retorted, slightly childishly, Fred thought.

"That's not true. Remember how worried your mother was after the battle? You didn't see her, Vi, when we were waiting for you to wake up, she was in almost as bad a state as I was! She does love you"

"Maybe. But she'd rather have a Fleur" she gave him another appealing look; and, when that didn't work, nodded in grouchy resignation, "Fine. Maybe we can find somewhere to lock her in. After all, the Burrow is pretty big"

* * *

By the morning, Viria's good spirits had returned. She woke Fred up at seven in the morning with several loud squeals and a bounce on the bed that was surprisingly agile for her advanced stage of pregnancy.

"Fred, it's Christmas! Wake up, you lazy arse, it's Christmas!"

Fred woke with a laugh, making Viria laugh too.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called you a lazy arse. But it's Christmas, Fred, Christmas!"

"Yes, I gathered" Fred sat up in their bed, yawning, and reached towards her, "Do I get a Christmas kiss then?"

"Can't. There's no mistletoe" she said sweetly, with a falsely petulant pout; then she grinned and flung her arms around his neck, kissing him with all the enthusiasm of the festive season.

"You are such a child" he teased when she moved away. She shrugged.

"Only on Christmas, and that's allowed. Everyone should act like a child at Christmas"

"Even when you're about to give birth to a child?"

"Even then"

"I'll remind you of that next year, when she's here"

Viria, who had clambered out of bed in order to get Fred's present, paused and looked at him with wondering eyes, "That's an amazing thought, isn't it? Our first and last Christmas alone. So strange and wonderful to think that next year...next Christmas...she'll be here. We'll be buying presents for her"

"It's kind of scary, too" Fred admitted, and she nodded.

"Yes. Definitely scary too" a moment's pause came as they looked at each other, both of them imagining the future they faced; then Viria was sunny and excitable again, and came back with a package whose shape could not be hidden.

"Sorry you can tell what it is. I tried to find a box but they didn't have one big enough" she held the gift out, smiling, "Well? Go on, open it"

Fred looked confused, "But I already have a broomstick, Vi, the latest Firebolt. You bought it for me last Christmas"

"Just unwrap it and see, won't you?" she pushed the present at him more forcefully, now looking amused. Fred took it, warily, and unwrapped it to find the very same broomstick that Viria had bought him last Christmas – the _very _same, though it had been polished and spruced up to look like new. His face must have shown his confusion, as Viria laughed her light, tinkling laugh and sat down again beside him.

"Look at the handle" she murmured, lips pressed to his ear, chin resting on his shoulder. Fred, still puzzled, turned the broomstick over and over in his hand, searching the handle. And a smile caught his lips.

"It's not much" she said, suddenly sounding wary, "With all the things we've had to buy for the baby and I didn't really know what to get anyway...I just thought – "

"It's brilliant" Fred replied, grinning.

Viria had had the handle of the broomstick engraved – the writing was small, only noticeable if you already knew it was there, and barely legible to anyone who didn't know Viria's handwriting as well as Fred did. It had been engraved as though written in her own hand – which only made it more precious to him.

"Love me always, love me always; you have been the supreme, the perfect, love of my life – there can be no other"

"It's a quote" she said at last, sounding anxious, "It's from a Muggle book I found, but I just think it's so beautiful...it's everything I want to say to you"

Fred turned and kissed her, light but lingering, "It's everything I want to say to you, too"

He turned away from her and reached under his pillow to pull out a small box, "It's not much, I just couldn't resist"

Viria had already snatched the box eagerly from his grasp and clicked it open; she gasped.

The box contained a locket, a silver heart dangling from the chain. When opened, the heart revealed two images; on the left, Fred on their wedding day, and on the right, Viria on their wedding day. The images looked at each other in adoration. Tears sprang to Viria's eyes.

"And look" Fred leaned over her and gently closed the locket, "When it's closed, we kiss"

She laughed, a gurgling laugh due to the tears building up in her eyes and her throat, "Oh, Fred, it's the most beautiful present I ever had"

The fact that they both so adored their presents led to a process of thanking each other that lasted for several hours longer than they had planned to spend in bed. When Viria finally looked at the time, she sat bolt upright in bed with a shriek.

"Fred! We were supposed to be at breakfast with Maman and Papa half an hour ago!" she rolled out of the bed, somewhat difficult for her now due to her sizeable belly, and yanked some clothes out of the cupboard, throwing them at him, "Get dressed, quickly, get dressed! Otherwise one of them might turn up to wonder why we're late"

At this horrible thought, Fred caught the clothes she threw and started to yank them on, "I shotgun the bathroom!"

"No you can't do that, I need the bathroom – oi, Fred!" she was half-laughing as she yelled at him, and laughing all the more by the time he slammed the bathroom door in her face, "You bugger, I'll get you back for that – "

* * *

Ten very hurried and hysterical minutes later, Viria and Fred stood on the Beauchamps' doorstep, beaming innocently and trying to look as though they were early rather than late. Viria hugged her father, grateful that it had been him and not her mother who opened the door.

"Sorry we're late, Papa. I've been so tired lately, I keep oversleeping. But Merry Christmas!" Viria flung her arms around Frank, who grinned at Fred over his daughter's shoulder and squeezed her back.

"Merry Christmas, sweetheart" he murmured, kissing her cheek, "It's getting very difficult to hug you nowadays"

Viria drew back and glared at him, "Are you calling me fat?"

Fred shook his head at his father-in-law behind Viria's back, trying to warn him of how angry Viria got when she thought she was being called fat. Frank understood.

"Of course not, Vee. Now come in, quickly, your mother's very excited about the breakfast she's prepared"

Viria groaned, "Oh God. That means it's croissants and fruit and yoghurt, doesn't it?"

Frank grinned ruefully, "Maybe. But you like all that stuff!"

"Not when I'm pregnant! I need fat food. Like bacon and eggs" she beamed hopefully at him, fluttering her eyelashes; she knew from experience that neither her Papa or Fred could refuse her when she did that, "Papa..."

Frank rolled his eyes, "Fine, fine, I'll do you some bacon and eggs. Just distract your mother while I'm cooking it"

"Deal" Viria beamed at him, but the smile fell slightly when they entered the house and her mother came rushing towards them, arms outstretched.

"Viria, darling! Merry Christmas!" Giselle kissed her reluctant daughter on both cheeks, "And Fred, dear. So nice to see you – and so nice of your mother to invite us for Christmas dinner!"

"She likes to feed people up, especially at Christmas" Fred replied brightly.

"Yes, well, you certainly don't need feeding up, do you, Viria? Goodness gracious, the size of you!"

Fred took Viria's hand because he thought that if he didn't she might slap her mother. Instead, he could hear her teeth grinding together as she clenched her jaw.

"I'm pregnant, Maman"

"Yes, I know, dear, but I really do think you might be the largest pregnant women I've ever se-"

"Anyone for bacon and eggs?" Frank appeared exactly on time, holding a plate of food and forcing a wide, innocent smile. Viria had gone a rather worrying shade of purple. Giselle was still eyeing her daughter disdainfully, and Fred was having his hand crushed so hard by Viria that he wondered if she might possibly have been preparing for the birth.

With a great deal of effort, Viria turned to face her father with a forced smile, "Thank you, Papa. Bacon and eggs would be lovely"

* * *

Christmas dinner had gone by swimmingly. Viria had palmed her mother off on Fleur, as planned, and they were getting on wonderfully. Someone had produced a bottle of Firewhisky and Viria was one of the few people who had remained sober. While everyone else began to play games and swap Christmas cracker jokes, all wearing paper hats that changed colour with every movement, Viria escaped to the kitchen to help Mrs Weasley clean up.

"Oh, you don't have to do that, dear! Go and enjoy yourself" Molly chided, beaming, "I think they're playing all sorts of games"

"Exactly. I've got a bit of a headache, actually, I've had them a lot lately, so I don't feel like playing games. Plus, I want to help"

"And be as far away from your mother as possible?" Molly queried shrewdly. Viria looked over from under her hair and grinned sheepishly.

"How did you guess?"

"I have my ways" Molly replied with a grin of her own, "Go on, then, you can help put the stuff away if you really want to"

"Thanks" Viria had just raised her wand and was in the process of guiding the plates towards the cupboard with a a swish and flick of her wand when she let out a little cry. Molly whipped around to look at her, but Viria was beaming; she let out a little gasp and sped the plates up.

"It's moving!" she cried, "Molly, the baby, she's moving!"

Molly looked confused, "You've not felt her move before now?"

"No, never. Oh, Molly, she's kicking me – it kind of hurts, actually – Oh my God. Fred! FRED!" she hollered excitedly at the top of her voice.

It took Fred several moments to stagger out into the kitchen, and Viria could see from once glance at his soppy grin that he'd given up on their no-drinking pact.

"Fred" she sighed, "Have you been drinking?"

"It's Christmas, 'course I have! Ah, my Vi. My lovely little wife. Come here and give us a kiss" he lurched towards her and Viria rolled her eyes, holding him away from her.

"Not now. Fred, listen – the baby's kicking. I can feel her moving!" although she was a little annoyed with him, she couldn't help sounding excited. The news had the desired effect on Fred, who suddenly looked much more sober.

"Seriously?" his eyes went to her stomach, almost popping out of his skull, "Can I...?"

"Of course you can, daft fool! Come here" she extended her hand and, as soon as his fingertips touched hers, took her hand and pressed it to the part of her stomach where their baby's feet were hammering away. Fred sucked in a deep breath. A grin spread across his face.

"Bloody Hell, Vi"

"I know, right?!" she squealed, beaming into his face. His brown eyes met hers.

"Does it hurt?"

"Not really. Just feels a bit strange" she giggled, "It tickles a bit in some places"

They were grinning at each other, and Molly smiled smugly to herself as she noted what a pretty little picture they made, Fred kneeling down in front of his beaming wife with his hand on her swollen belly. She knew, in that moment, that she couldn't have wished for a better daughter-in-law than Viria. She already had low expectations for the wives of the rest of her sons – except perhaps Hermione, of course – because Viria was just what she had hoped for for her Fred.

"Not long now" Molly murmured, turning back to them, and when she did they were both grinning at her.

"Exactly" Fred smiled, looking back at Viria, "Not long now"


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I've really neglected fanfiction for months now, particularly Fred and Vi, and I'm so sorry! I really hope this chapter makes up for my absence. Please review and thank you for reading (if you can still be bothered :P)**

_Nevermore alone__  
__Nevermore apart__  
__You have warmed my heart like the sun.__  
__You have brought the gift of life__  
__And love so long denied me._

_Suddenly I see__  
__What I could not see__  
__Something suddenly__  
__Has begun – Suddenly, Les Miserables (2012 movie)_

Viria had reached nine months into her pregnancy – at long last. She felt a strange mixture of relief and fear – and exasperation.

"Fred, seriously, it's not necessary" she protested, "I'm not _sick_, I don't need people to watch over me all the time!"

"But I've made a _rota_!" Fred replied eagerly, showing her his colour-coded schedule, "You'll have two people with you all the time. We're already one member of staff down because you can't work now – "

"I want to work, though, I – "

"No way! What I was saying is that I can't take any more time off of work to stay with you, and at least if you have two people with you one of them can come and fetch me when you go into labour. It's a win-win situation"

"I could just make my voice louder so you could hear me" she reached behind her for her wand on the arm of the sofa and pointed the tip at her throat, "Sonorus!"

"SEE?" her voice echoed round the flat, and she smiled triumphantly at him, before bellowing, "Quietus!" and returning to normal.

"No" said Fred firmly, "You'll be screaming anyway, if you use sonorus as well you'll scare the lives out of all our customers. You'll have two people with you"

"Fine" she conceded, "At least I won't be bored. But why, _why_, did you put my mother on the rota?"

Fred looked decidedly abashed, "Sorry about that. I did leave her off initially, but then I was worried she might be offended. And I needed one extra person"

Viria scowled at him, "If she's here when the baby comes, I swear to God I will kill you with my bare hands"

Fred gulped, "I know. That's what's worrying me"

"Can I get you anything?" Frank asked anxiously, plumping the pillows behind his daughter's back – his daughter, who was beginning to enjoy the fact that she basically had servants until the baby's arrival – "Anything at all?"

Viria stretched languidly, "No, thank you, Papa. Hermione, can you carry on?"

Hermione was home for Easter and reading aloud to Viria from the pile of Muggle 'classics' she had bought from home. They were currently on 'Pride and Prejudice', which Viria already adored.

"My feelings cannot be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you – "

Viria closed her eyes and let Hermione's voice wash over her, trying to ignore the twinge in her belly. The pains were getting worse. She knew what was coming – and she'd have to tell them, sooner or later – but she was determined to be brave. She didn't want to say a word. The thought of her father and Fred panicking was completely off-putting. But maybe if she could get Hermione alone...

"Actually, Papa, I've got a craving for some pancakes" she fluttered her eyelashes at him, smiling blandly, "If you don't mind...?"

"I'll get straight on to it" Frank bounced to his feet, kissed her on the forehead as he walked towards the kitchen. As soon as he had his back turned, another pain gripped Viria – this one worse than the last – and she grabbed Hermione by the hem of her jumper to hiss in her ear.

"I'm in labour"

She had never seen anyone look so frightened in her life. Hermione stared at her with huge brown eyes, mouth sagging slightly, horror-struck. Viria glared at her, and winced.

"I thought you were the least likely to freak out! Come on, Hermione, I need you to be the calm, practical one. Now just go downstairs and tell Fred, _calmly, _that I think I – oh shit"

They both froze for the moment after Viria's waters broke, eyes fixed on the pool of liquid that was expanding across the sofa cushions and Viria's dress. Their eyes met.

"Oh shit" Hermione echoed; the book fell to the floor with a thud.

Viria bit down hard on her fist, letting out a louder moan – that next pain was the worst yet. Hermione's eyes grew wider – and suddenly she was gone, racing down the stairs and shrieking Fred's name at the top of her voice. Viria rolled her eyes. So much for being the calm, sensible one!

She moaned again, now doubled over, and Frank couldn't fail to hear all of the noise. He came dashing in and gawped down at her. She noticed that his hand was shaking when he reached out to take her hand and kiss her forehead.

"Hermione's getting Fred?"

Viria nodded, groaned, grimaced.

"Right. Okay. Good" he squeezed her hand, "You want me to get your mother?"

Viria shook her head frantically; a smile tugged at Frank's lips, "I thought not. You're going to be okay, Vee. My brave girl. My angel" he stroked her hair gently, and Viria almost smiled.

"Oh crap. Oh. Papa, it hurts, it really hurts"

"It's okay, darling, it's okay...breathe...that's a good girl..." he was stroking her hair more rhythmically now, a gentle pattern that Viria remembered from childhood, something that soothed her despite the pain.

"VI!"

If she hadn't been in so much pain, Viria might have rolled her eyes. She'd known Fred would overreact, it was so typical of him. He looked in an even worse state that Hermione, whose jaw was still sagging open.

"Vi...oh shit, Vi, are you okay?"

She shot him a withering glance that quickly changed into a grimace of pain, "What-do-you-think?"

"Okay, I'm sorry, stupid question. Shit" he grabbed her hand and clasped it in his, "It's gonna be okay, it's...Hermione, you need to send a Patronus to Mum. Now"

"She needs to hurry" Frank said warily; Viria was panting through clenched teeth, already drenched in sweat, her hand already crushing Fred's. He tried not to show how much it was hurting.

"Maybe we should go to the hospital instead, I know you don't like them, but – "

"No" Viria growled, "No, no way. Your Mum is delivering this baby, and I swear to God if you try to change my mind now – "

Fred backed off, alarmed, "I won't, I won't, I swear...is it supposed to be happening this fast?"

"I don't know, do I – I – never - had a baby before!"Viria came close to yelling, and the yell came moments later with yet another harsh contraction.

"Fuck" she groaned, teeth still gritted hard, causing her all the more pain, "Oh God, Fred, I don't want to do this"

"Do you want me to carry you to the bed?"

"I don't want you to-touch-me ever again, let alone put me to bed"

If he hadn't been so panicked, Fred would have laughed. Hermione turned back to them as her silver otter shot away in a light, shimmering cloud of grey-blue smoke, her cheeks even paler than before.

"I sent one to Ginny, too"

Viria gasped in relief, "Thank – OW, you little – "

"Don't curse at the baby"

"I wasn't going to! Mnnnmmmaaaahhhhhh"

"At least your Mum isn't here" Fred said cheerfully, earning himself yet another glare.

"That is the only positive thing about this entire situation. Oh shit"

"Um...Fred?" Hermione squeaked, "Shouldn't someone check to see how, um...how far dilated she is?"

Frank looked close to vomiting at the suggestion; Fred's face grew even paler than Hermione's.

"You are NOT looking down there" Viria hissed between gasps of agony, gripping Fred by the collar of his shirt, "If you do, you will never want to have sex with me again – not that that would be a bad thing, if this is the bloody result!"

"Viria, sweetheart, please" Frank looked even queasier at the thought of Fred and Viria sleeping together; it was his turn to receive a glare.

"How do you think I got pregnant in the first place?!"

"I tend not to think about it"

"Is anyone actually going to look, or not?" Hermione snapped, regaining some of her usual organised composure.

"NO!" Fred and Frank chorused louder. Viria moaned and clutched her belly.

"You're the girl, you look" Fred retorted. Hermione's face coloured, her hands went straight to her hips.

"What, so just because I'm a girl I'm expected to deal with childbirth? She's your wife!"

"HERMIONE!" Viria screamed, "NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO GO ON A FEMINIST RANT!"

There was silence for a time, punctuated only by Viria's sounds of pain. Fred was concerned by how long it was taking Molly to arrive – surely she would have hurried?

"Fine" Hermione said curtly, wincing a little at the thought, "Fine, I'll...I'll check...if I must. Oh dear. Oh – "

"Viria! Goodness, dear, you do look in a state!"

Molly Weasley had appeared in their fireplace in a cloud of Floo powder, Ginny close behind her, looking excited. Fred had never been so glad to see his mother in his life; as a matter of fact, neither had Hermione, who now deemed herself relieved of birthing duties.

"Oh, thank God" Viria gasped, "Oh, Molly, help"

"Of course, dearest, of course. Ginny, get a cool cloth for Viria's face. Fred, do not let go of her hand, she'll need it. Frank, try and keep her calm, won't you – and Hermione, for goodness sakes, go down to the shop and tell George to get rid of the customers, we don't need them listening in!"

Hermione and Ginny scurried off obediently as Molly lifted Viria's skirt; Frank resumed his stroking of her hair; Fred tried to ignore the growing pressure on his hand.

"You can do this, Vi" he murmured, "You are brave and strong and wonderful, and I love you, and you can do this"

He'd expected her to make some snappy retort about not needing a pep talk, but behind the pain he saw the merest hint of a grateful smile on her lips. Molly gasped.

"No wonder you're in pain, Viria, I can see the head!"

"Already?!" Viria cried shrilly, then cried out again, "Oh God, do I start pushing now? Oh, please say yes, this is killing me"

"Yes, yes, start pushing! Ginny, hurry up with that cloth!"

Ginny reappeared and placed an ice-cold purple flannel on Viria's damp and burning forehead.

"Come on, Vee. You're going to be great"

Viria felt like she pushed for years; in reality, it took half an hour for the small, wailing bundle that was Bonnie Viola Weasley to emerge into the world.

And, subsequently, change it forever.


End file.
